Can't Turn Back
by xXBalorBabeXx
Summary: Things turn upside down when news of the class action lawsuit is out. With everyone's nerves frayed, who will each of the superstars and divas turn to? (Co-written with Cry-Of-A-Warp-Engine)
1. Invasion Of Privacy

_**WWE Payback 2016…**_

 _Simon Gotch had opened the locker room door… and immediately reeled back and screamed as he was punched right in the nose, Aiden English running over to check on his tag team partner and then calm Amanda and keep her from striking Simon again._

" _I hope you're happy being handed that opportunity at the tag team titles, Enzo's headed to the hospital with a fucking concussion! You idiot, you caused him to hit his head three times!" Amanda yelled, Aiden pinning her against the wall. "Let me go, Aiden! Simon could've caused Enzo to die!" She screamed, Aiden gently cupping her jaw with his right hand as tears were running down her face._

" _You need to calm down." Aiden said._

" _Enzo is hurt…" Amanda said quietly._

" _It was an accident. Simon, tell her you didn't mean to use that much force." Aiden replied, Simon walking over cautiously… and noticing a scar on the back of Amanda's scalp._

" _You took a similar blow once…" Simon responded, realising it._

" _When I was 19. Left me with a concussion… and migraines. There's been talk of an impending lawsuit against the company by former employees, alleging that WWE concealed these kind of things." Amanda said quietly._

" _It's bad that they might alone… breaching those Health & Safety courses of action can have serious impacts, some people may even be gone, clean wiped out of the company altogether." Simon said._

" _Yeah… look, Aiden… one of them is your uncle in law, Chavo. He even tried to get me to join it and when I said no, he got pissed and called me a disloyal bitch… and things spiraled from there, I lost it when he brought up Eddie and Chris and went and punched Chavo in the face." Amanda said after Aiden let her go and got her to sit down._

" _They were always around when you were growing up, of course it hit a nerve." Aiden said._

" _After losing both of them as well as Nancy and Daniel… I felt like I had lost myself too. I was a kid, I didn't understand why… they were gone." Amanda said as she lowered her head to hide her tears, Simon gently cupping her face in his hands. "How would anyone ever be the same after that? It's not possible to go back."_

" _No it's not, sweetheart…" Simon responded._

" _I'm sorry for hitting you…" Amanda said as the two hugged._

" _It's okay, kiddo. I got out of line." Simon replied after they let go._

 _Amanda headed back to her locker room and her and Finn hugged each other tightly._

" _Let's go check on Enzo. Okay?" Finn said after they let go, Amanda nodding before the two grabbed their things and left… on the way out, Finn wrapped his right arm around Amanda as a way to support her._

 _Both had seen head injuries go horribly wrong and end careers and lives… and neither wanted that to happen to Enzo..._

 **Present time…**

It was hours shy of the Draft Lottery now and Amanda knew she shouldn't be reading this… but with her alone in the locker room, she scrolled down the article about the class action lawsuit.

"This is fucked up." Amanda muttered, unaware of the door opening before she felt a hand rest on her side and looked after he crouched down. "I thought you were waiting with the rest of the NXT roster in Orlando." She said as Finn's blue eyes scanned her hazel ones and he turned concerned.

"We got called late last night to head here…" Finn explained, Amanda sitting up so he could sit down and her leaning against him after he wrapped his arms around her. "Class action lawsuit… no wonder you're distressed, a lot of your friends names are on here." He said, lying back on the couch and settling Amanda to his left side.

"I really don't know how to feel about it… Chavo and I haven't spoken since that fight and I haven't heard from Ashley since she left 8 years ago. I do understand why Jimmy's wife filed for him though, Carole nearly lost him because of head injuries." Amanda said, resting her head on Finn's shoulder.

"People getting hurt is bound to happen in this business and yes, people are bound to be angry at it… and it's obvious that being a lawsuit against a whole company, it'll be more than the hands of the police snooping around." Finn replied, his arm resting behind her.

"FBI, possibly CIA… makes me think back to the investigation they launched into in mid 2007. I was just a scared kid then, wondering why all these people in suits were asking what I was on and not believing the truth, I've never taken illegal drugs or shot anything into my bloodstream… I was in the backstage area a lot in the early to mid 2000s, I saw what these drugs did to my friends and idols. John promised me that he'd never do it and he's lived up to that promise." Amanda responded.

"Like a good brother should… and those years were different, the drugs and all that had took over in the 70s were still lingering around underneath it all." Finn replied.

"Yes they were…" Amanda said as she glanced at the countdown clock for the draft. "Five years ago was the last time the brands were split… of course, they only selected a few superstars and divas." She said quietly before both heard the door open and saw Dean.

"Am I interrupting something?" Dean asked.

"Just a talk. Are they wanting us to start to gather around by the monitors?" Finn responded.

"Yep, up on your feet, kids." Dean answered, the two following him.

Near the monitor where most were around, a few of the cast members of Total Divas noticed that Amanda and Finn were by each other and away from the crowd, Eva turning to Paige.

"The hell is he doing here?" Eva whispered.

"They called NXT here for some reason." Paige replied.

"Our second and third draft picks met back in NXT and have made it their second home as well as made a strong, unbreakable bond with each other. And we can't wait to see how they turn this show upside down, Raw is delighted to welcome Amanda Cena and Finn Balor!" Stephanie announced, Finn picking Amanda up into his arms and spinning her around as they held each other.

No one noticed Seth sneaking off in the excitement of everything…


	2. Thief In The Night

It was back at the hotel after the event had ended that Amanda tied her hair back into a messy bun and washed her makeup off… she looked through her duffel bag for her pajamas and it was seconds after that Finn noticed the agitated look on her face.

"That's the way he wants to play it, huh? Fucking man child." Amanda muttered before slipping her sandals and shorts off and reaching under her cami, unhooking her strapless bra and removing it… and Finn noticing that she didn't seem bothered one bit being in her satin red hiphugger panties and white cami with him just a few feet away.

"He's an idiot… pulling that. I don't know what he's trying to prove, that he's willing to steal your clothes to stop you knowing me?" Finn responded, finding himself, strangely in his mind, unable to keep his eyes off of her for more than a few seconds.

"He is and he's pulled worse… one thing he can't stop us from doing is unwinding." Amanda responded, finding the bottle of Crown Royal and two shot glasses before pouring some of the liquor into them and handing one to Finn. "Finally, you're on the main roster…" She said as they clinked the glasses and then downed the liquor. "And you haven't taken your eyes off me…" She whispered as she felt his hand resting on her left side after they set the glasses down and she closed the bottle and put it away, Amanda standing back up to her tiny height.

"Put him out of your mind tonight… you need to." Finn responded quietly, leaning in and his mouth crashing against Amanda's… they weren't gonna hold it back anymore, both were adults and could do whatever they wanted.

Amanda slipped Finn's shirt off over his head and unbuttoned his jeans after he slipped his shoes and socks off, the clothes disappearing into the somewhat darkened room and the radio on, _Five To One_ by The Doors playing after he pulled Amanda's cami off and ran his fingers over her smooth skin.

Drowning out the noise to the others was their intention when they were fully naked… but heading back towards his room was Roman and he heard the music as well as a lamp crashing to the floor.

Roman smiled to himself before heading towards his room as the noises got louder, Roman finding Enzo.

"Lose something?" Roman asked.

"Misplaced a box of Trojan condoms, can't find them anywhere!" Enzo explained.

"Having plans, were ya?" Roman questioned, Enzo looking at him for a moment as he processed the joke.

"Shut your mouth." Enzo responded, Roman laughing. "Besides, it's better safe than sorry regardless."

"Yeah… that's what was on Mandy's and Finn's minds." Roman replied.

"Bullshit… you serious?" Enzo asked with a smirk.

"Add music into it as well." Roman answered.

At the same time, Seth heard the music on the floor above him and turned to see Dean walk in.

"Hell of a party up there." Dean said before glancing into Seth's duffel bag. "You stole Mandy's pajamas?!"

"Yeah, And? If she's an honest girl without any bit of slut in her, then she'll come looking for them before she even considers getting into the same bed as that Balor." Seth responded.

"Well, I'm gonna go crashing with Renee tonight… these pranks are getting old, Seth." Dean replied, grabbing his things and leaving as Seth rolled his eyes.

The music continued for a while as Seth tried to settle into sleep… but by that time, he was singing.

"This is the end… beautiful friend, the end. This is the end, my only friend, the end." Seth sang quietly minutes after the music stopped and he finally settled into sleep.

Upstairs, Amanda and Finn were in each other's arms, relaxed.

"Surprised no one barged in on us…" Amanda said quietly as Finn's left hand rested on her right hip.

"I don't doubt that someone heard us at least… and luckily it seems, someone with a decently respectful mind." Finn replied, a light kiss planting on Amanda's shoulder afterwards.

"Yeah… and that's always good…" Amanda responded before they kissed and fell asleep, exhaustion setting in.

The next morning, Seth rubbed his sleepy eyes and noticed a slightly blurred female figure holding the grey flannel shorts and assumed it to be Amanda.

"About damn time…" Seth muttered before his vision cleared and he saw that it was Aestrid.

"Yeah… it is." Aestrid responded before she reared and hit a hard kick against Seth's side, shoving him out of the bed and down to the floor.

"Ow, damn it!" Seth yelled as he stood up. "Ace, how the hell did you-" He said before seeing the room keycard in her right hand.

"Maybe I was wrong to think you weren't stupid as well as reckless… what the hell were you trying to prove, huh? Try and separate Mandy from him to protect her dignity as 'not a whore'?! Well… say and think what you want, but putting it blunt and brutal, you failed yourself." Aestrid responded.

"The music… you're fucking with me, right?!" Seth replied.

"They took Enzo's condoms to do it. Seems that you forcing her to be half naked in front of him… it only made them more heated for each other." Aestrid answered.

Seth muttered under his breath, Aestrid grabbing the pajamas.

"Think things through… and treat her better." Aestrid said before leaving. When the door closed, Seth flopped back onto the bed and looked out at the Massachusetts sky.

At the same time, Amanda opened her eyes when she heard her phone ringing and reached for it, seeing Vince's number.

"Mr. McMahon? What did you think of the draft lottery last night?" Amanda asked after she answered the call, Amanda not even trying to pull Finn's arms off of her… but Vince could hear Finn snoring in the background.

"Turned out much better than the one from five years ago… I'm gonna assume you know about the class action lawsuit though…" Vince answered.

"Was hoping it would've been dropped… just be careful, Kyros is a shark in that courtroom from what I've heard." Amanda replied, Vince letting out a light chuckle but he knew why Amanda was worried, Vince was nearly 71 now and showing signs that his age was catching up to him.

"I'm sure I'll be alright. I've met way worse people over the years." Vince replied.

"I know but it doesn't stop me from worrying about you. You treat me like I'm one of your grandchildren." Amanda said.

"I watched you grow up, Mandy… that's never gonna change but I'm gonna let you wake up fully." Vince responded.

"Tell the family I said hello. Love you, old friend." Amanda said quietly.

"Love you too, kiddo." Vince said before they hung up and Amanda set her phone down before turning to Finn, who lightly kissed her on her forehead.

"It was actually quiet last night… I thought we were dreaming." Amanda whispered before they kissed.

"Quite the realistic feeling dream, wouldn't you say?" Finn responded with a light chuckle. "Yeah… it was a perfect night."

"How every night should be." Amanda said before both heard two people in the hallway.

"Third room on the right… and he needs to grow up." Corey answered after Aestrid asked him where Finn and Amanda's room was.

"I'm gonna assume you just returned from the lobby and saw him down there?" Aestrid asked.

"Yep and he was livid. Last I heard, he was asking why John wasn't keeping an eye on Mandy." Corey explained, John walking over when he heard that.

"Because her feelings have picked a decent man is why. I've no reason to be… cautious about him." John responded.

"Then why in hell's name is Rollins going berserk?" Corey asked.

"At times, I think he was born crazy." John answered before knocking on the door. The door unlocked and opened, Finn having gotten redressed and Amanda covering herself before Aestrid set the pajamas on the chair.

"Returned and undamaged… though I'm good at sewing if there is any." Aestrid said.

"Thanks. Completely forgot about them last night." Amanda replied before Aestrid closed the door after walking into the hallway, Finn walking over and sitting down on the bed. "I thought John was gonna kill you." She whispered as Finn rested his hands on her face.

In the hotel bar, Seth had downed a little more of his Budweiser before he saw Emma.

"Drinking at eight thirty in the morning mate? What's happened now?" Emma asked.

"Amanda… I tried to get her to show that she isn't careless with Finn and she did the exact opposite… they banged the night away." Seth responded after a loud burp.

"As startling as it is, adults are gonna behave like that at times… drinking yourself senseless ain't gonna solve things." Emma replied, Seth seeing that she no longer had the diamond ring on her ring finger.

"You and Zack Ryder split? He's a fucking fool for letting you go." Seth said.

"It was the distance between him and me that was making things strained… so we ended it, no fighting involved." Emma responded, Seth handing her the third beer that was handed to him and the two drinking.


	3. Kicked Up Storm

At the non televised event a few hours later, Stephanie checked on Amanda and saw her with her long curly hair in a ponytail.

"Ace told you what he pulled?" Amanda asked.

"Yeah, she did… and how you reacted. Or rather how you didn't." Stephanie answered.

"His crazy stunts will either stop if ignored or he'll move on to someone else… I know about the lawsuit, Stephanie." Amanda said, turning serious before the two sat down. "Is there gonna be an investigation and people in suits and with badges coming by?" She asked.

"Only if they get called in. They won't be trying to frame you this time, I promise." Stephanie answered, her and Amanda hugging for a few seconds.

The door opened after a knock and Finn walked in and closed it behind him, locking it.

"What's going on?" Amanda asked as she and Stephanie stood up.

"Seth is either hungover or still drunk." Finn answered, Amanda seeing Stephanie's eyes narrow.

"One or the other… either way, he never learns!" Stephanie muttered, her right fist bunching for a moment.

She left before they could stop her, Stephanie finding Seth and finding that his eyes were bloodshot, indicating that he was drunk.

"You are fucking unbelievable." Stephanie said, dragging Seth into the gender neutral bathroom and putting his head under the faucet. Seth screamed as the cold water hit him suddenly, Stephanie holding him down as he flailed his arms around before she stopped after a few minutes and let him straighten back to his full height.

"Are you done trying to murder me now?!" Seth growled as he started to sober up, Stephanie tossing a towel at him and him drying off.

"Are you done trying to control Mandy? It isn't working! Over 50 former employees have joined a class action lawsuit against the company, that's on her mind a lot more than your damn stunts!" Stephanie responded, Seth wringing the water out of his black hair.

"Steph… you might consider what would happen if a present time employee were to side with the lawsuit!" Seth replied after a few moments.

"You showed up here drunk, you're lucky you're not suspended… as for siding with that lawsuit, you're talking out your ass!" Both heard, Seth seeing Amanda and Finn and knowing Amanda called him on his bluff.

"I went a bit far but Hunter's the one who put the rule in place, sober up an employee yourself if the Wellness people aren't here." Stephanie said.

"Road Warrior Hawk was a long time drinker and he-" Seth shouted before he felt a stinging slap and reeled back a bit, knowing from the look in Amanda's eyes that she had a strong opinion on disrespecting the deceased.

"Michael Hegstrand was sober in the final years of his life, he fought to stay that way and you damn well know it!" Amanda said through gritted teeth as Finn had his arms around her, Seth seeing that the old Amanda was out.

Seth stormed off and Stephanie turned to Amanda, seeing that a light shade of red had colored the tiny brunette's face.

"You okay?" Stephanie asked, Amanda nodding. "Stay with her." She said to Finn before leaving, Finn turning Amanda to him while keeping his arms around her and her resting her hands on his sides.

"I never saw Hawk when he was drunk or high so I had no idea about his problems until after he was gone. 46 years old… it confused me back then that someone could suffer a heart attack that young." Amanda said quietly.

"I… met a kid once. Poor thing… she suffered a heart attack that almost destroyed her circulatory system when she was only 12, her heart was just… dead. She had a machine pumping for her." Finn replied.

"Did she survive?" Amanda asked reluctantly as they sat down with him holding her in his lap.

"I believe so, but… not with a natural heart. Whether she lives on life support or maybe with some sort of prosthetic now, I never found out." Finn answered.

"Shows that no matter how old or young and despite the health that anything can happen before we know it…" Amanda responded, Finn knowing why she had said that.

Seth had finished sobering up and calming down when he noticed a small shadow and turned around.

"Indie…" Seth said, having not seen her since she was a newborn.

"You're wrong about him… he's good for her." Indie replied, the young teen knowing that Seth could see the outline of the small boxes. "Transplant… early last year." She said quietly.

"Damn it, that's… what happened?" Seth responded, shocked by what he saw.

"Shortly after my 12th birthday… my condition worsened. I had a heart attack on a massive scale, had I not already been in the hospital I'd have died… one day I went in with a sore wrist after I fell over and bent it too far back when landing, the next… I was told that my heart would never work again, and… it didn't." Indie explained.

"So they went with an artificial heart instead of a donor one…" Seth said once he had processed what he was told.

"I'm alive, thanks to it… and I did a little digging. The year before it, your friend was taken to the ER after a seizure… they never found out what caused it or the other two, did they?" Indie replied.

"They couldn't understand why a perfectly healthy 23 year old nearly died." Seth responded.

"Similar to me… I had heart problems all through growing up, it was a mystery to the doctors at every step. Symptoms mixed all over the place, some pointing to heart disease, some to something genetic, once even to a minor deformity in the artery shell… small heart attacks happened often, like my pulse sometimes dropped so low that I'd pass out on the spot, the lack of oxygen flow was even starting to affect my brain functions until I was 10, then it just… stopped. Entirely, like nothing ever happened. I was finally normal, they even discharged me from regular checkups… then suddenly out of the blue, it hits worse than ever and the heart destroys itself." Indie replied, before sitting down. "I wish… that small year and a half was just perfect, I felt so… alive, and normal… I always have times when I want them back…" She said quietly, before her hands covered her face.

"Just like I wish that those damn seizures never happened to Mandy…" Seth whispered, Indie lowering her hands.

"Did you find her that day?" Indie asked.

 _ **3/5/2014…**_

 _Seth opened his eyes when he heard some strange noises and realised that Amanda wasn't in her bed, getting up and heading towards the bathroom when he noticed the light was on… immediately, his eyes opened and he crouched down, turning Amanda to her side and forcing her mouth open as the violent seizure caused her to throw up._

" _Seth?!" He heard before hearing the door being kicked open and seeing Roman, who immediately dialed 911 as Amanda suddenly and eerily went still, her eyes closed and Seth checking to make sure she was breathing._

 _She was but she was unresponsive to him… and Seth carefully held her in his arms as tears fell down his face. Roman was about to say something but Seth glared at him._

" _I'll hold her all damn well I want to." Seth said through gritted teeth… before turning to see Amanda's eyes barely open._

 _Amanda tried to talk, Seth lightly brushing her hair back and his hand resting under her neck… he could see that she had no conscious memory of what happened, was completely numb and was terrified when she heard the distant sound of sirens, Seth kissing her on her forehead as she let out a small cry when she tried to move her left hand._

" _Stay still… you're gonna be okay…" Seth whispered, his forehead pressed against Amanda's…_

 **Present time…**

"Scared me to death finding her like that… and being the idiot I am, I put too much force into a chair shot and broke her leg a few months after." Seth said after a few minutes of silence, Indie resting her left hand on his back.

At the same time, Amanda was walking around again when she saw a tall man she hadn't seen in a long time… and her eyes widened when he saw her.

"Well hello… damn, you grew up."

"What are you doing here?" Amanda asked, her body tensing up.

If it weren't for what happened 11 years prior, she knew that their friendship wouldn't have ended how it did.


End file.
